The invention relates to a motor vehicle with a receiving element for a torsion bar.
The connecting of a torsion bar to the chassis of a motor vehicle usually occurs by a multi-piece receiving element, which is produced in a steel shell design. The receiving element consists of, for example, a front piece (drawing and/or folding part), a rear piece (drawing and/or folding part), and a receiving element for the torsion bar as a tube part (which in itself is already costly) or as a component with press or welded nuts. These components are firmly joined together and connected to the receiving element, which in turn is firmly connected to the chassis.
The connection of the components to each other and to the chassis can be done for example by welding (spot welding, inert gas welding, or the like), screwing, or bonding. This is expensive and results in increased costs for the bodywork. Furthermore, on account of the welding and bonding standards, the available design space cannot be optimally utilized.
Furthermore, sealing work needs to be done on the receiving element consisting of several individual pieces. The sealing may be done, for example, by a rust prevention of the cavity and/or a seam sealing. If the receiving element is located in the proximity of the exhaust gas system, the heat of the exhaust gas system may be detrimental to the seal. In order to prevent this, either a larger distance from the exhaust gas system must be observed or a thermal protection measure must be taken, which has a negative impact on the costs and the vehicle weight. Both steps impair the function, since the receiving element needs to be made smaller at the installation side in order to carry out the necessary protection measures.
Since the receiving element is firmly joined to the chassis, it is also necessary for cost reasons that all vehicles of a model series be outfitted with communal bodywork with the receiving element, which further increases the weight of the individual motor vehicle. This could only be avoided by a specific routing of the car bodies during the chassis construction, which in turn involves high added costs, however.
Therefore, the problem which the present invention proposes to solve is to create a motor vehicle with a receiving element for a torsion bar in which the receiving element has a simple design and reduced weight, and in which the drawbacks with regard to sealing and available space are eliminated.
This problem is solved in a motor vehicle with a receiving element for a torsion bar according to the invention in that the receiving element consists of a monolithic extruded profile. If the die for the extruded profile becomes too large for the monolithic design, in order to obtain the cost benefits in regard to the piece count, the receiving element of the torsion bar can be welded together from two or three extruded profiles. Thanks to the symmetry effects, a three-piece component for example can be fabricated with only two dies. The benefits in regard to eliminating the sealing and thermal protection work remain in place.
Thanks to the configuration of the receiving element as an extruded profile, the receiving element is lighter than the former receiving element of a steel shell design. Furthermore, sealing work in the region of the receiving element can be eliminated, so that no structural space needs to be reserved for thermal protection work, which leads to a better utilization of the structural space. Furthermore, a cost reduction is achieved due to the elimination of the thermal protection and sealing work. In addition, the aerodynamics of the motor vehicle can also be improved by the configuration of the receiving element as an extruded profile.
According to one advantageous embodiment, the receiving element has a substantially trapezoidal cross-section. Such a cross section is relatively easy to make by extrusion.
Advantageously, the receiving element is bolted to the motor vehicle. In this way, vehicles not requiring the installation of a torsion bar are not needlessly burdened with the weight of the receiving element, since the receiving element does not need to be permanently installed already during the fabrication of the chassis, but instead can be bolted onto the chassis even afterwards, if needed.
According to one preferred embodiment, the bolting is done directly to the chassis. This has only minimal impact on the structural space and also produces only slight restrictions with regard to function. Furthermore, an additional reduction of joining work and thus a cost reduction in the chassis construction are achieved.
According to a preferred alternative embodiment, the bolting may also be done by at least one bolting adapter firmly joined to the motor vehicle. Thanks to this installation concept, only small bolting adapters are required, so that only minimal impact on the available space and also only minimal restrictions in terms of function need to be accepted with this design variant as well. The bolting adapter may also be designed “wet”, so that the sealing work can be further reduced.
The trapezoidal receiving element according to one advantageous modification is bolted to the motor vehicle or to the bolting adapter on its longer base side and bolted to the torsion bar on its opposite, shorter base side.
According to a further advantageous embodiment, the receiving element is provided with flanges for receiving the bolting, which flanges protrude at the side beyond the longer base side of the trapezoidal receiving element.
Advantageously, two bolting adapters are provided, being firmly joined to the motor vehicle and arranged at a spacing from each other. In this way, a further cost reduction can be achieved, since the bolting adapters can be designed relatively small.
The mutual spacing of the two bolting adapters advantageously corresponds substantially to the length of the longer base side of the trapezoidal receiving element including the two flanges.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.